State Department Blacklists Hamas Terror Commander

By Staff Reporter
Posted on 04/14/17 | News Source: JNS

The U.S. State Department designated Hamas terror commander Abu Anas al-Ghandour as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist last week, imposing sanctions on Ghandour for “posing a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.”

The State Department clarified that the sanctions prohibit U.S. citizens from “engaging in transactions or dealings” with the Gaza-based terror commander, and that all of Ghandour’s property—subject to U.S. jurisdiction—is deemed “frozen.”

Ghandour, a high-level operative within Hamas, has been involved in numerous terrorist operations, including an attack in 2006 on an IDF outpost at the Kerem Shalom crossing along the Israel-Gaza border. The terror attack killed two Israeli soldiers and resulted in the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held captive by Hamas for five years before being freed in a controversial prisoner exchange deal.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called Ghandour’s blacklisting “an attempt to invert the real situation, because the real terrorist is the one who furnishes the arms of the occupier (Israel) to kill the children of Palestine,” referring to the U.S.